


An Impossible Thing

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You [27]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Romance, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:29:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28718889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe Doctor and Rose have nearly reached the end of their timeline to find a way to be together forever. They arrive in London in 2118, and fight to save the world and each other.Her mind was racing, and she could feel him working in overdrive as he stopped his banging and threw the mallet across the room. He looked at her, and his furrowed brow softened. “You look ready for a fight.”She grinned at him and looked down at her black jeans. She wore a dark magenta tank and a leather jacket, and her hair fell about her shoulders, still smelling of the sea salt pool. He saw her hoop earrings against the light of the coral. He smiled genuinely at her, and took her hand.Their eyes danced for a moment, before he turned his attention to the lever. “Where are we going?” she asked.“Earth,” he said. “Surprise, surprise.”***Part of the Forever With You series****
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030980
Comments: 6
Kudos: 133





	1. Hello, Again

The TARDIS seemed to understand something had drastically shifted in the hour since the Doctor had grabbed his telescope. When they approached the console, she already had the controls up and running, saving them valuable seconds as he closed his eyes, remembering exactly where he had seen the words in stardust. 

Bad Wolf. 

Rose was changing out of her loungewear and ran into the room as he was pulling levers and twisting knobs, and his mallet was in his hand. He was banging on something, and she sat in the passenger seat, knowing she was still a young pilot and wouldn’t be much help in this scenario. 

Her mind was racing, and she could feel him working in overdrive as he stopped his banging and threw the mallet across the room. He looked at her, and his furrowed brow softened. “You look ready for a fight.” 

She grinned at him and looked down at her black jeans. She wore a dark magenta tank and a leather jacket, and her hair fell about her shoulders, still smelling of the sea salt pool. He saw her hoop earrings against the light of the coral. He smiled genuinely at her, and took her hand. 

Their eyes danced for a moment, before he turned his attention to the lever. “Where are we going?” she asked. 

“Earth,” he said. “Surprise, surprise.” 

She smirked a little and he flashed her a smile. Neither felt nervous, or excited. They were both trying to stay calm and not jump ahead of themselves or let their fears guide them. 

The here and now. 

Rose could still feel the pulse of the clock against her skin. They also were trying to stop their hope from becoming too blinding or determination from being too controlling. It was a battle of emotions teetering inside of them, and their minds were open, which was only adding to the weight they were feeling, and yet, somehow, it was also helping. She moved to stand beside him as the coral hummed, and she squeezed his hand, his heartbeat in her ring. He looked at her carefully, and kissed her forehead. “You keep me fighting, Rose.” 

She looked at him, but he was back to playing with wires again, his favorite deflective action around this console, and she knew what this was. He was saying it now in case he never got the chance the moment they stopped off the ship, and the look on his face tugged at her heartstrings. She kissed his shoulder. 

“Good,” she whispered. It wasn’t what he expected to hear, and his eyes snapped to her. She was staring at him intently, and cupped a hand to his cheek. “No matter what happens today. Always remember that.” 

He stared at her, and he felt her press her lips to his. It was a soft kiss, one that gave him butterflies, and he sighed against her tongue as it brushed its way to touch his. He kissed her again, and again, until the twist and pull of time under their feet halted. 

They pulled back and each took a breath, and moved toward the door. Rose felt a warmth in her mind that wasn’t him, and somehow she knew it was the Vortex. It made her turn and look at the coral, and she could practically feel it nodding at her, wishing her luck as she felt wind creep through the door as it opened. “Allons-y, Rose Tyler.” 

They stepped off the TARDIS and found themselves in London. It was in the future, she quickly realized, as the clothing people were wearing looked nothing like anything she had seen, but the sky was still blue and the clouds were still white, and the landmarks were still the same. She took comfort in that as they held hands and began to walk forward, both waiting for her Instincts to tell them where to go. 

She stopped walking after a block or so, when they came across a park. “What is it?” he asked, but she just stared and he turned his attention in the direction she was looking. 

Every single person had a Sidekick. The droids followed behind them like obedient dogs, some were spinning and giving their owners a cell phone, or a wallet, or a bite to eat. Rose felt her breathing grow shallow as she realized despite all their efforts, Ridgemont Entities still managed to succeed in mass production, and alarm bells were going off in her head. 

They kept moving after a moment, not speaking, but watched all the Sidekicks carefully. None of them seemed angry, the red lights weren’t blinking like the one in 2056, and Rose took a deep breath to steady herself. “Do we go straight to Ridgemont Entities?” she asked, and he clenched his jaw. 

“I...I don’t know,” he murmured. “What do your Instincts say?” 

Rose just looked at him and closed her eyes. She was starting to feel a little nervous now, and that feeling was drowning other senses out. A wolf appeared in her mind and its presence began to ease her. She opened her eyes and let out a breath. 

“Not yet,” she said. He just nodded, and followed her as they walked around the park and toward the other side of the city. They watched children play, and birds fly, and couples kiss on the sidewalk. Rose bit her lip as the Doctor held her hand as they crossed the street. “It’s too quiet. Like we’re in the eye of a storm.” 

The words sent a shiver down his spine and he looked at her. He took a rather long and very deep breath as he looked at the sun, and shook his head. 

“We don’t have the gem,” he said suddenly. He had been so overwhelmed by what they found in the telescope he had completely forgotten that detail. “We can’t open it.” 

“We don’t have it _yet_ ,” Rose whispered. “Come on. Let’s just...keep walking.” 

His jaw was clenched and he felt Rose pull on his hand, tugging him along behind her. Her own mind was deducting and wheels were turning, and her tongue was starting to trace the corner of her mouth like it does when she is very deep in thought. Their blocks were up, both thinking much too hard, and she stopped walking. “We need to take a breath.” 

“That’s easier said than done, Rose,” he told her, and she just sighed. 

“Whatever we’re here for isn’t just going to appear. We have to find it and my Instincts are telling me to slow down,” she whispered. “What’s something we’ve never done?” 

“In London?” he asked. She nodded and he smirked a little, his mind immediately thinking of all the public places they hadn’t yet had sex. She hit him playfully on the arm, knowing exactly what he was thinking even with their blocks up and she smiled at him. He just laughed, the air feeling lighter for a moment as they looked at each other. 

“We’ve never gone to the museum,” she said, and he bit his cheek. 

“Really?” he whispered. “Rose, we shouldn’t…”

“Stop,” she said. “We need to refocus because right now we’re getting ahead of ourselves. I know I can’t stop thinking about the thousands of Sidekicks that are all around us at the moment and we can’t be doing that, okay?” 

He suppressed his desire to argue with her like he would have in the past, knowing this was her Instincts talking and he was trying to trust that. He swallowed and nodded as she grabbed his hand again, and they began to make their way toward the British Museum. They walked for a while until they reached it, and in that time they saw even more Sidekicks and more people using them to their full potential, at least in the way in which they were designed. Both Rose and the Doctor knew what their true full potential could be, and they kept their distance from all of them, checking to make sure there weren’t any flashing red lights. 

“What year is this?” Rose whispered, realizing she never asked. 

“Oh,” he said, realizing he never said. “2118.” 

“Right,” she said. “Okay.” 

They eventually found themselves inside, the glass roof above their heads and the Doctor couldn’t help but start to ramble a bit about how no panel of glass is the same shape, and Rose found herself smiling at him and listening, looking around and trying to just breathe for a moment. 

She had been here once a child, and it did look a little different over a century later. They moved through the rooms slowly, both remembering when they took Donna the Natural History Museum in New York and how bored out of her mind she was, and they started laughing and trying to guess what her reaction would be to some of the artifacts in this museum. 

“Oh she’d kill us if she was here,” Rose said, wiping a tear away from how hard she was laughing. He just nodded and continued to look around, and eventually they found themselves actually having a good time, just as Rose’s Instincts told them they needed to. 

They moved into a room with some paintings and read each plaque, seeing that it was a collection of art from all around the world. A black ottoman rested in the middle of the room and some people were sitting on it, looking up at the ceiling, where the roof had been transformed into another plate of glass, allowing them to look out at the sky. Clouds still danced above their heads and Rose closed her eyes. 

When she opened them, the Doctor was a few feet away looking at a painting and she walked up to him. “Hello,” she said, nudging her shoulder to his. He looked at her, and smiled. 

“Hello,” he said, and they both looked at the painting. It was of a landscape, the location unspecified, and Rose found herself tracing the oil-based wildflowers with her eyes, drinking in each swipe of green and yellow that created a blade of grass, noticing the way the oil didn’t perfectly blend in the sky, leaving streaks of blue in the middle above the horizon. He was enamored by how she was looking at it, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. 

They sat there for a moment, but ultimately the Doctor moved to the back of the room. Rose was still staring at the painting, and he was about to call her over when she reached out to touch it, something inside of her telling her she needed to feel what the flowers felt like, and a distinct popping noise sounded in the Doctor’s ears.

He spun instantly, knowing exactly what that sound was and ran to the picture. She was no longer standing in front of it, and he was trying not to panic as he looked around, turning in circles. 

“Rose?” he called, but he already knew she wasn’t going to answer. She had been teleported somewhere, he knew, and his jaw was clenched as he immediately pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan the picture, desperately searching for any clues. He was doing a much better job at not panicking than he expected, but Rose was not and never had been a victim, and he was trying to trust that this was all supposed to be happening. 

Timelines. 

He caught a whiff of sweet honey that was lingering in the air and he froze. At that moment, he reached his mind out to her, still able to feel her pulse in his ring, but she didn’t let him in. That’s when he felt the panic start to brew, despite the voice in his head telling him to stay calm, and he tried again, then again, but nothing happened. 

Suddenly, as he looked back at the painting, his mind felt like it was hit by a freight train. There was an intense pressure in his head he wasn’t prepared for, and he was gripping the sides of it as he collapsed onto the floor. He was sure he was screaming but he had no way of being able to control it, as the pressure was growing more and more intense and her face kept flashing in his mind. 

It was a pain he knew, a pain that was making him do more than just panic. He was sobbing and before he could think about it he was hurling across the room, vomit landing all over some of the precious artwork that lined the walls. A woman and two children made horrified faces as they ran back out in the other direction. 

He saw spots and colors and shapes but he couldn’t remember the names of them, all he could do was lie there, dry heaving against the worn carpet as he realized his connection with Rose was severed. His blood ran cold at that thought, because he knew what it meant and he was trembling; shaking violently against the carpet as his hands still gripped his hair. His hearts were shattering alongside his mind, and he tried to enact blocks but he was too far gone by the time he remembered to use them. So he just laid there, still gripping his hair, curled in a fetal position, her name falling from his lips over and over like a chant. 

He must have seemed completely mad to anyone who might walk by him in this museum, but he didn’t have the wherewithal to care. He wanted, more than anything, to run and find her, to prove to himself that this wasn’t real and she was okay. He was trying desperately to believe that despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, but the pressure in his head was inebriating, and he took many breaths to try and steady himself. 

He missed the flash of light that appeared through the window above him. 

Followed by another, and then another. 

Time. 

“You better get up, people are staring,” a voice said, and the Doctor felt another surge of panic wash over him. It was enough of a shock that it distracted him from the severed hum and intense pain in his mind and his eyes snapped open, staring directly at two black boots. He noticed a soft gold glow around them and he clenched his jaw as he shifted his head upwards, taking in the black jeans, the black belt, the black t-shirt, and finally, a leather jacket and a pair of rather large ears. 

“What?” he somehow managed to choke out. His eyes were red and his hair a complete mess. His head felt like it was about to explode as they locked eyes, and the Doctor in leather just stared at him. He reached for the sonic screwdriver which had fallen out of his next incarnation’s hand. He aimed it at himself and pressed, and suddenly he wasn’t a projection, but flesh and bone. He tossed the screwdriver back to the Doctor still laying on the floor and stared at him with an exasperated expression. 

“Get up, it’s embarrassing,” he said. The Doctor sat frozen for a moment, but the other Doctor shouted and he winced as he moved from the ground up to a standing position, still staring at the Doctor, and gripped the wall for support. “We don’t have much time.” 

“What is this?” he asked. His throat hurt, and the pressure in his mind was still quite powerful, and he just stared. 

“How do you not know what this is? Our brain isn’t stored in these bloody ears, you should still -” he started to say, but the Doctor winced again and he sighed. He stood and looked at him carefully. “She’s alive.” 

The Doctor felt his head spin, and watched the Doctor in leather tap his ring finger, one that didn’t have the turquoise stone ring on it, and he focused all his attention to his hand. The same one he had regrown on the day after the body standing before him died. He suddenly felt the very distinct and very real pulse of Rose’s heart, and he let out a sob. 

“See? Pull yourself together. Come on, then,” the Doctor said. The Doctor watched him leave for a moment and tried to control himself as he followed him through the museum, stumbling just a little. People were still giving him strange looks as he walked by, and he saw the Doctor shake his head in disapproval as they reached the front of the building and walked toward the TARDIS.

It was a long walk back, and neither spoke the entire time. The sunlight seemed to help his headache, and he focused all of his attention on the pulse in his ring, which was the only thing keeping him calm. 

Eventually, the pain in his head wasn’t throbbing as intensely, just as they reached the blue doors. He was able to think for the first time in minutes and realized, with an almost incapacitating sense of relief, that it was temporary, whatever was going on. At the very back of his mind, tucked deep, deep down, he was able to feel the smallest sliver of her presence, one that had been overshadowed by the loss just a few minutes before. It was calming him down quickly and he kept reaching out, hoping she’d be able to let him in. 

Nothing happened, and his jaw clenched. He was more than worried about her, and he looked up, noticing the Doctor was just standing by the doors with a tapping foot, his arms crossed in front of him, giving him a look like he was seconds away from slapping him. 

“You can just... go in,” he said. 

“I don’t have my key,” the man in leather said with a huff and a frown, and the Doctor realized he was still frustrated that he hadn’t figured out why he was there yet. He gave him a puzzled look as he unlocked the doors, and the Doctor in leather ran straight to the passenger seat Rose usually sits on and threw his feet up on the controls, and the Doctor stared. 

“I...how are you here?” he asked. 

“I’m not going to just tell you, that would defeat the purpose,” he said, his northern accent piercing the air. The Doctor sighed. 

“You’re a projection, but...you can’t be. You didn’t exist when my...our father set them up,” he said. 

Wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey, stuff...

“Who said anything about our father?” he said with a sigh. “Think.” 

“I am thinking. I’m thinking Rose is in trouble and I can’t be arguing with myself right now!” he snapped, and the Doctor in leather just stared at him. 

“Rose is in trouble,” he repeated. “Good. Keep going.” 

“What?!” the Doctor asked, officially slamming his hands on the console. “Oh, I don’t have time for this.” 

“Doctor,” he said. “Think. Rose. She’s in trouble.” 

It hit him then, and he just stared at his big ears and saw the desperation in his eyes. 

“You’re here for Rose,” he whispered. The Doctor took a deep breath. 

“Yes,” he said. “There’s more. Keep going.” 

“What happened to her?” the Doctor asked, his stomach twisting into a knot. “No, no, no. We have to go back. I didn’t even check security cameras, I can see -” 

“Oh, don’t be daft. We don’t have _time,_ ” the Doctor said. “You need to think. She’s alive. Focus on that. Let go of your fears for one moment and use your brain. Why am I here?” 

“I…” he said, and he watched the Doctor in leather close his eyes and dropped his head. He perked up, his finger pointing at him as he spoke. “Oohhhhh of course! You’re not really here. You’re in my head. You’re my conscience.” 

“Oi, you’re not Pinnocchio,” he said. “You’re not going crazy, Doctor, alright? But this only works if you figure it out.” 

He remembered then, the gold light he saw around him when he first appeared. Not pink. Gold. He stiffened and moved to him, staring at him intently. “You’re the Vortex.” 

“Closer,” he said. The Doctor swallowed. 

“You’re...me? A piece of me that lives in the Vortex...But that’s impossible. Every cell of our body dies,” he whispered. 

“Think harder,” he said. “The last thing this body did. What was it?” 

“Save Rose. We took the power out of her and -” the Doctor stopped talking and stared at him, and realization came crashing down. 

“Rose sent you...” he whispered. The Doctor nodded. 

“Probably didn’t realize what she was doing, but yes,” he said. The Doctor was trying to stay calm, but he was putting the pieces together and he was terrified. Whatever was going on was bad. Rose wasn’t just in danger, it was peril. Life or death. 

The Doctor sensed all the dread in his future self’s mind and shook his head at him. He watched as he slumped in his pinstripes and ran his hand through his hair. “Are you Bad Wolf?” he asked. 

“There it is,” he said with a smile. He looked at him, and the Doctor leaned forward. “We, and I mean all of us, you, me, and Rose, we created an impossible thing, Doctor. Bad Wolf was never meant to belong to a person. But Rose found a way, with her Instincts, apparently always destined to defy the laws of the universe.” 

The Doctor smiled as he said this and watched him. The Doctor in leather held his hand up and replayed the scene in gold light on the screen by the controls. 

_“My head, it’s killing me,” she said, tears streaming down her face._

_“I think you need a Doctor,” he said, and captured her lips in a soft kiss. The gold light seeped from her eyes into his, and he sent it back where it belonged, locking it away._

“When I returned to the Vortex I suddenly found myself imprinted on her. And on you. But your mind rejected my presence, much too clever. Her’s, however, embraced me...And then you regenerated, and I made sure to keep your essence if I needed it. Stole some Artron Energy and kept it on reserve for this moment. So I am you. You and Bad Wolf all in one.” 

He just stared at him, his mind spinning. He was still dealing with a throbbing headache, but he was clinging to every word he said, and he realized he wasn’t breathing and was gripping the console so hard his knuckles were white. 

“She’s an impossible thing, Doctor. The very best of them all,” the Doctor in leather said. 

“Don’t I know it,” he whispered. More puzzle pieces fell, and he just shook his head in amazement. His impossible human. “That’s why she can read Gallifreyan. Why mind bonds came so easily to her…” 

“Yes,” the Doctor said. “The piece of the Vortex in her has trace amounts of Artron energy in it, just waiting to be activated. It’s been growing slowly over time. The way it is for Time Lords.” 

The Doctor’s hearts raced at these words, and his eyes darted down to his ring. He found himself entirely unsurprised and entirely relieved. He always wondered… 

He felt like forever was so close he could taste it. 

Her words, from so very long ago, rang in his head, temporarily muting the pain, and he figured it out. 

_I want you safe. My Doctor._

“She sent you here. To check on me, to stop me from what I was doing on the floor. She knew, somehow, that I wasn’t handling it well and she wants you to help me get to her, right?” he asked.

“Ah, there is a brain in you after all,” he said, and the Doctor just stared at him, Rose’s face still flashing in his mind. His perfect, impossible, pink, yellow, and gold human. Once again doing what no one else could. Making sure he didn’t lose sight of it all. 

She wasn’t Time Lady, but she sure as hell acted like it. 

He finally felt a sense of focus course through him and he stared at the Doctor in leather, no longer interested in playing his game. He just wanted to know what was going on. “Can you see her? Feel her? Anything?” he asked. 

“I can feel her,” the Doctor said. “She’s alive. She’s fighting what is happening.” 

The tone of his voice made him tense. “What would that be exactly?” 

His voice was dark, and the Doctor saw the storm starting to brew. He just shook his head. “I can’t see that. I can only feel her. She’s strong, though.” 

“Where is she?” the Doctor asked. 

“That is what we have to figure out,” he said. “Together.” 

The Doctor nodded and sniffed. He stood and began to mess with controls, ready to run a scan for her, and the Doctor in leather groaned. “Oh please, you know that’s not going to do anything.” 

He glared at him. “What do you suggest then?” 

“Think,” he said, and the Doctor groaned. 

“Not this again,” he said. “Just tell me what to do.” 

“I can’t,” he said. “I wish I could but I can’t. You have to figure this out.” 

He stared at him, and he suddenly had a burst of inspiration. Rose was at the core of all of this, and he found himself running to the storage closet and grabbing a device he seldom used but really should, one she chastised him to use back when he looked like the man sitting at the console, and ran back. 

The Doctor in leather leaned back in seat as the Doctor hooked the device up to the wires he usually plays with and twisted a knob. 

“Scan for alien tech…” the Doctor murmured, his hair still wild. It scanned the entire city, and one spot told him exactly where he needed to go. He felt a surge of annoyance run through him because he _should have known_ , but he let it go. He didn’t have time to wallow and he decided to blame his throbbing headache. All he wanted was Rose. He took a long breath and looked at the Doctor. “Time to pay Ridgemont Entities a visit.” 

“Good. Let’s go,” he said.


	2. Tick Tock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to see what Rose is up to, we're gonna bounce back and forth for a bit!

When she awoke, it was immediately clear she wasn’t in the museum anymore. There was a large window before her, but the blinds were shut and she couldn’t tell if it was day or night. The room was silent and smelled of paint, as if it had been freshly redecorated, and she closed her eyes and focused on the hum in her head like she did the last time she found herself abducted and taken away from the Doctor, and she felt a cold panic rush through her. 

It was gone. And this time, there wasn’t the gentle hum that’s there when they sleep. This was like life before their minds connected, and she realized just how awful of a headache she had. She whimpered, the pain growing stronger by the second, but before she could combust into tears or let it overtake her completely, her ring pulsed. She let out a breath and it pulsed again, and she felt a few tears escape.

He wasn’t dead. 

That thought sent a surge of adrenaline through her and she closed her eyes. She saw the wolf in her mind, the same one from Atlantis and the same one who helped her calm down earlier. The pain in her mind was still eating away at her, and she felt like she was going to be sick. She took a deep breath and saw his face, and that’s when the pulse in her ring grew rapid and incessant, and she realized with a wave of panic he must think _she’s_ dead. She knew him, and she knew the silence in his mind would overpower their other bonds. He was a natural telepath, and she bit her lip, picturing the wolf again in her mind. 

She remembered the way the coral spoke to her, and she tried the only thing she could think of. 

_Help him. Please._

The need to scream so loudly he might be able to hear her gripped her tightly, but when footsteps began to pitter patter through the room, she froze. 

She suddenly realized she was strapped to some sort of table. It was angled upwards and her head was tied with a piece of leather, holding it in place. She noticed the same thing on her arms and legs and across her waist, and she took a deep breath, about to try and use the vortex energy to break through the restraints, when a face she did not expect to see came before her, and smiled. 

“Hello, Rose,” he said. 

“Master,” she whispered. She stared at him, not moving, and he just smiled wider and grabbed a chair that was against the wall, setting it down in front of her while he watched her. She refused to speak, and after a few moments he shook his head and pointed his finger at her. 

“You are hard to get alone,” he criticized. “I mean, really, this codependent attachment the two of you have with each other can’t be healthy.” 

She just looked at him, trying to see what her Instincts were saying, but they weren’t speaking to her. Which told her she was supposed to listen, and she frowned when his stupid smile plastered itself on his face again. 

“Not going to speak?” he asked. “That’s fine by me. Preferable, in fact.” 

“Where is he?” she suddenly said, and her voice was darker than she had ever heard it, as if her own storm was waking up. He sighed. 

“We’re not really going to talk about _him_ , are we? My entire life everybody has just wanted to talk about him. I’m here to talk about you,” he purred. A boiling rage bubbled in her stomach, and he sensed it in her eyes. “Oh, alright. Tsk tsk.” He sniffed in a similar way to the Doctor and crossed his legs, leaning back against the chair. “He’s still at the museum. Probably screaming or scanning the picture you fell through.” 

“A teleport?” she asked. 

“Portal,” he said with a wink. She stiffened. 

Rose just looked at him, deducting. “So….this is the parallel world?” 

Her voice was much steadier than she was feeling. He shook his head. 

“You really think I didn’t see your plan to close the rift? Of course I did. I escaped,” he whispered, his voice dripping in self-appreciation. She just stared again, and he stood, beginning to pace the room slowly. “You are an impossible thing, Rose Tyler.” 

“So are you,” she said. “He showed me what happened to you.” 

The Master looked at her, and he groaned. “Oh, no. No, no, no, don’t tell me...he _bonded_ with you?!” 

“Why, you jealous?” she asked, unsure what made her ask that question. 

He snapped his attention to her, a fury of his own resting in his eyes now. “Shut up.” 

“That’s a yes,” Rose said with a smile. She saw the Master’s brow furrow as if this was a turn of events he wasn’t expecting. It was clearly getting under his skin, and she watched as he groaned again and kicked the chair. He moved to her and placed his hand on an empty spot on the table right by her ear, but he inhaled sharply when she didn’t flinch. Only then did he seem to dial down all of his anger and just looked at her, suddenly as calm and collected as he had been the first time she saw him at VoidCorps. 

“He was always so obsessed with humans,” he muttered. Disdain lined his voice and Rose just eyed him as he picked the chair back up and sat back down. “But now I know. You truly are his weakness. Breaking a bond… that’s a pain you don’t ever recover from.” 

Her stomach flipped as he said this. They had never talked about that, what happens to his mind after she’s gone. Maybe it’s because they both were working so hard to figure out this timeline, but she realized now how stupid that was on both of their parts. She could die in the next five minutes at the hands of his maniacal ex-friend, and she couldn’t believe she never thought to ask...

But something in the way the Master was looking at her told her he couldn’t hurt her, and that stopped her before her thoughts spiraled out of control. She pushed the dread and guilt she was feeling aside and just looked at him, her Instincts suddenly aware that this was part of his plan. An attempt to knock down her guard and throw ripples into her defenses. 

He smiled, and she glared. 

Her head was still throbbing. 

She let the Doctor’s face fill her mind, and she could practically hear him say it; the retort he would give to the Master’s insult. And it gave her strength. 

_I believe in her._

_I’m okay,_ she thought, in the off chance that he was able to hear her. The Master was still watching her, and he inched the chair a little closer. 

“There are men with an eye for a pretty girl, Rose Tyler. Adventurers with a touch of pity for the innocent victim in a situation. I am not one of those men,” he said. 

“That’s too bad,” she said slowly. “Men like that are the winners.” 

He stiffened and let out a breath, and she just looked at him. “Is that what you think of him? A winner?” 

“Yes,” she said. “And I think it's what you think too. I think it's why you’re doing this, whatever this is. Whatever your big, scary plan is...I think it’s because you know he’s winning. Because you ran. And because he made this huge sacrifice, and in your twisted head he needs to be punished for it. “ He watched her, and she suddenly got a burst of confidence, the same way she did when she saw the Cult of Skaro on the worst day of her life. She smiled at him, a taunting smile that made him glare. “But see...I know a thing or two about the universe, too, Master. And I know that when someone has the guts to do what’s right when everyone else just runs away, the universe finds a way to say thank you.” 

He burst out laughing, and she glared at him. “So very human. So very impossible, that he thinks you can save him.” 

“You’re sounding more and more jealous by the minute,” she said, realizing she was making him unravel. He took her in carefully. “He’s going to find me.” 

“I should hope so,” he said. They stared at each other for a moment. 

“Why can’t I hear him?” she asked. The Master sighed and held his hands above his head as he spun in a circle. 

“You are clever,” he said. “I have to give him that. Huon metal. A Ridgemont Entities original design, with my help of course. It’s all around you. Essentially a bio-damper, originally put in place to make it a little harder for him to reach you, so we would have time to….chat. Also happens to disrupt brain waves much to my luck...Seems the universe is on _my_ side, Rose Tyler. Your bond won’t work here.” 

Rose stared at him. “Fine. Let’s chat.” 

“I was hoping you would say that,” he said lovingly, moving back to the chair. “I need to know where the gem is.” 

She looked at him. “You had to kidnap me to ask me that?” 

“You tried to lock me in another universe, I didn’t think a knock on the TARDIS door would have been well received,” he said seriously. She narrowed her gaze at him. 

“We don’t have it,” she said. He laughed at her and stood up, his eyes bearing into hers. 

“I don’t believe that. I’ve looked everywhere. I found that pin of his in the ocean...You expect me to believe he destroyed an entire planet and brought a ceremonial piece of costume jewelry with him as he made his valiant escape, and he didn’t think to grab one of the most important pieces of technology that planet had to offer?” he hissed. She just smirked. 

“Have you met him?” she asked. “He doesn’t care about things like that. He threw that pin in the ocean for a reason, too.” 

“He’s much too clever, Rose,” the Master said. 

“Exactly. Which meant he knew no single Time Lord should have that power. There was an entire council. He probably thought it better that it didn’t exist,” she said. He looked at her incredulously and collapsed in the chair. 

“Did he tell you this?” the Master asked. Rose just shook her head as best she could in her restraints. 

“No, but -” she began, and the Master groaned. 

“THEN HOW DO YOU KNOW?” he shouted. “You’re human! You have no idea what that kind of power means!” 

“I know what power does,” she said slowly. “All the problems we solve, all the people we fight to save, all the people we meet who are doing the damage, Master, it’s always about power. _Always._ I bet what you’re doing now is about power, isn’t it?” 

He just stared at her, and clicked his teeth. She smirked. 

“Thought so. I know him, Master. I know his mind. His hearts. His soul. He destroyed those stones for a reason. They may not exist at all. If you need it for whatever you’re planning you might just fail,” she said. 

He made some gargled noise and turned away from her. A second later he turned back and pulled a gun out from the pocket of his black hoodie, and aimed it at her. She didn’t stiffen, and their eyes just locked with each other. 

“Do it, then,” she said. He clenched his jaw, and stared her down. “You’re a warrior, right? A soldier? This should be easy.” His hand started to tremble, and she bit her lip. “You can’t do it, can you? Because he loves me. And you care about him. You don’t want to hurt him…” 

“Shut up,” the Master said, and Rose noticed his foot was tapping. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

“The drums...Why do you hear them?” she whispered. He looked at her like he saw a ghost, the gun dropping to his side. 

“How do you know about that?” he whispered. 

“He...showed me,” she whispered back. 

“Do you pity me?” he asked. She shook her head. 

“No,” she said. “But I think you’re better than this.” 

He raised the gun again, and his hands were steadier than before. 

“You don’t know me,” he said, his eyes dark. “You don’t know what I’m capable of.” 

Her Instincts were awake without her realizing, and he fired the gun just as she shot a beam of light and snapped the leather restraints. The gun fell to the ground and he shot back, her energy hitting him in the stomach. She ran to him and quickly grabbed him by the shoulders of his hoodie and slammed him onto the table. He was still disoriented, and she used her sonic screwdriver to reattach the leather pieces to the table and quickly strapped him in place instead. One over his head, one over each wrist, one over each ankle, one across his waist. 

She stepped back, breathing a little heavily, and realized the bullet he fired grazed her leg. Blood trickled down her side and she quickly healed it, ignoring the fire in her skin as she did. He was shaking his head now, realizing what happened, and she quickly darted her eyes around the room, absorbing as much information as she possibly could. 

It felt like an office. Perhaps two offices with the diving wall torn down. Now that she could see around her, she noticed the ceiling was the kind of tile that sits above most cubicle desks, the kind that makes it easy to access electrical wires or other necessary technologies. She scanned the room with her sonic screwdriver, but nothing out of the ordinary came back, and her eyes locked with him. 

He was staring at her, and he started laughing. “I knew you had...unique abilities...Didn’t know it was like _that._ ”

“How?” Rose asked. 

“What?” he said. She took a step toward him. 

“How did you know about my….about the energy?” she asked. 

“I can see flashes of the timelines,” he purred. “You forget, I am also a Time Lord.” 

She pulled the chair over, the one he had been sitting in and set it down in front of him. Neither broke eye contact, and she stayed very still, having done enough interrogating over the years to know there is strength in stillness. 

“What is your plan?” she asked. 

“Ohhhhh,” he hummed. “You are cute. You think you scare me?” 

“Yes,” she said. “Not as much as him, mind you.” 

“He doesn’t scare me,” the Master spat. 

“Right,” Rose said, still looking at him. He stared back at her, and she saw a slight quiver in his jaw. She waited a few more moments, and he broke eye contact and stared up at the ceiling. 

She took a deep breath and looked around the room herself. She made sure to grab the gun that was on the floor and unloaded the bullets, putting them all in her pocket as she walked in a slow circle. He eyed her, and her hand touched the wall. “Is this the metal you were telling me about?” 

He didn’t say anything, and she knew her Instincts were working again. She raised her hand and grabbed a hold of the panel and pulled it away from the wall. His entire body clenched as he watched her do it again, and again, until an entire wall was free of them. She then grabbed her sonic screwdriver and flipped through the settings slowly, her eyes glancing up to the Master, who was still glaring at her, until she found what she was looking for. A demagnetizer. She scanned each panel until they were essentially useless and the pressure in her head began to dissipate and she could feel the hum return.

He nudged her mind immediately, and she almost fell to her knees. 

_I’m here. I’m okay. I’m safe. I love you._

_Rose?_

_Hello._

She was sure they were both having flashbacks to Scotland, and he sent her such a surge of relief and love it did make her collapse to her knees, and she sent him the same right back. 

_Where are you?_

_I don’t know. But I’m fine. I promise. The Master is here._

She felt his heart rate increase and his thoughts were silent for a moment. 

_What?_

She looked at him, still tied to the table, staring up at the ceiling. She sent the Doctor the image of it all, and she could practically visualize his clenched jaw as he took it all in. 

_Were you strapped down like that?_

_Yes. Good thing I’m clever, huh?_

She could feel him smile in her mind and he sent another wave of love. 

_I’m with Harold and Matt. I’ll make them tell me where you are. I’m coming, Rose. I swear._

_I know. I love you._

_I love you so much. So much._

She smiled, and the Master looked at her. 

“Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock,” he said. “He better hurry.”


	3. Broken Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This begins in the middle of the events from the last chapter, but we're going to see what our two Doctor's are doing to get to Rose. :)

The moment the TARDIS materialized outside of Ridgemont Entities he was running. The Doctor in leather was behind him, also running, and they both ignored the guard as they approached the glass doors he and Rose snuck through just a few months back. He shocked him with an electrical pulsation and he collapsed to the ground asleep, and they bounded up the stairs silently, the Oncoming Storm doing all the talking as the Doctor slammed the door to the main office open, scattering papers all across the floor. Some people jumped, others spilled their coffees, and a few lept out of the way as they marched through the hall, not looking at anyone. The Doctor in leather managed to look around a little bit, keeping an eye out for Harold or Matt, but the Doctor before him seemed to know exactly where to go and he threw open another door, this time to the stairs. 

They practically flew up three flights until they reached the level he knew the door to the Vortex scanner was. The same door that led to the room with a near infinite cyber network, the one he corrupted. He ignored all the offices and rooms and went straight to the hall, climbing down the steps with the Doctor behind him until they reached the scanner. The blue light still wrapped itself around the room, and the Doctor in leather stopped and stared at it. 

“Oh, this is complete rubbish,” he began. 

“I know,” the Doctor murmured, looking for any signs of Harold or Matt. 

“They don’t have half of the nebulas on here. They’re missing some of Jupiter’s moons…” he continued, and the Doctor, despite his very rampant storm, smiled at him. 

“I know,” he said, and they both grinned at each other for a moment. “Come on.” 

They moved down the hall where Rose spoke Gallifreyan to him, and he soniced the door open. 

Harold and Matt were in the middle of the room, arguing. 

“He didn’t call me, I don’t want to -” Matt said, and Harold groaned. 

“He’s upset with me already. He’s more likely -” he said, and the Doctor cleared his throat. He was looking at them with a stone face, his hands tucked behind his back and his brow arched just a little. The Doctor in leather looked angry, just staring them down, but his hands were also behind his back. 

“Where the hell is she?” he asked. 

The both stared at him, and Matt gulped. Harold looked shell-shocked. 

“You’re the Doctor?” he asked. 

“Yes,” the both said. The Doctor watched Harold realize there were two people there, and he began to shake his head. 

“No, no, but, he said -” Harold said, and the Doctor in pinstripes took a step forward. 

“You haven’t figured out that everything he told you in that world was a lie?” he asked. 

“You don’t even know who I’m talking about,” Harold spat. The Doctor smirked. 

“Harold Saxon. Also known as the Master. Your father, sorry about that, by the way. You got a...well, a very short end of the stick on that one,” he said. Harold glared at him. 

“It was you, wasn’t it? You closed the world?” he asked. The Doctor just smiled. 

“That wasn’t fair!” Matt shouted, and the Doctor looked at him for the first time. 

“I told you you would wish we just helped you that day,” he said. Both Matt and Harold looked older, he realized under the red light. Rose must have trapped Matt here when she broke his jumper, and he had been aging and living in a universe fifty years outside of his own timeline. It should have caused a paradox, but it didn’t… 

The Master must have planned for it. 

He sniffed and looked back at Harold. “I’m only going to say this one more time. Where is she?” 

“Who?” Harold asked, and the Doctor just groaned. 

“Big mistake,” he said, and he punched him. The Doctor in leather rolled his eyes and pulled the other Doctor back, giving him a look before he knelt down in front of Harold, and watched a trickle of blood drip out of his mouth and onto the floor. 

“He’s just going to keep doing that if you don’t tell him,” he said. “Rose. Where is she?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Harold insisted, and the Doctor in leather looked up at Matt. 

“What about you? Do you know where she is?” he asked. Matt just shook his head, and the two Doctors looked at each other. The one in pinstripes clenched his jaw and took a page out of Rose’s book. 

He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the first computer he had to his right, and began to break it. 

“What are you doing?!” Harold shouted, and the Doctor moved to the second computer. 

“You either tell me where she is or I erase everything on every single one of these hard drives. I will make it so you will be set back to day one of this stupid enterprise. So you are never able to recover or build another bloody Sidekick. I am also, and do listen carefully to these words, not opposed to killing either of you,” he said. It was his angriest tone, the one that is actually very quiet, and the Doctor in leather watched Harold with careful eyes. 

“All I know is there’s a portal,” he said. “At the British Museum. Some picture that belonged to my mother. Our team has been working to enhance it, and somehow it worked. We’ve been told she was supposed to touch it.” 

“Who told you that?” the Doctor asked. Harold sighed. 

“My father,” he said. The Doctor stiffened, aware that just because the parallel universe is closed now doesn't mean this wasn’t information that was given to them before they sealed the rift. 

“What’s the plan, then?” the Doctor in leather asked. Matt opened his mouth to speak but Harold glared at him, and he looked down at the ground. 

The Doctor was moving to the third computer, when suddenly he felt his headache dissipate and the hum returned. 

He dropped his sonic screwdriver on the ground, and the Doctor in leather picked it up quickly. 

He was transported out of the room in his mind as he reached out to her instantly, and he choked back a sob when she immediately let him in. 

Harold, Matt, and the Doctor watched. He was clearly trying to control his breathing, and they saw his entire body tense and then relax, and the Doctor knew exactly what was happening. He grinned like a maniac and used this temporary pause to slam Harold and Matt against the wall with a burst of light. 

Being the Doctor and Bad Wolf comes with its perks. 

They stared at him with wide eyes as he began to yell at them and ask where Rose was again, and suddenly the Doctor in pinstripes moved to stand beside him. His eyes were furious and his posture was once again tense, and when he spoke it wasn’t a storm. It was a tsunami. 

“How did he escape?” 

Harold’s eyes practically bugged off of his face, he opened them so widely. He started to stammer, asking how he knew that, and the Doctor severed a fourth computer, and he just began to tremble. 

“He...he said he saw the timeline...I sent him a vortex manipulator a few months ago...he crafted it into a jumper…” Harold said, his eyes closed and his hands raised by his face. “He said he was going to give me regenerations. Time Lord and human DNA, he said I had to earn them but I don’t know what his plan is, but he promised me eternal life, what was I supposed to do?” 

The Doctor took a deep breath. “Do you think he has the power to do that?” 

Harold just stared at him, and the Doctor saw the moment it clicked in his head. He’d been fooled. 

Matt was crying beside him, still encased in the Doctor’s vortex energy, and the Doctor in pinstripes looked at him. “Matt,” he said. “I need to know where she is. I need to know what he’s planning. Trust me, he is the bad guy here, not me.” 

Matt looked at him, and saw the same mix of compassion and warning in his eyes he had seen before, and he nodded. Harold began to ask him not to, but Matt ignored him. “The portal connects to a room at the very top of the building. He has it hidden. You need a way to break the cloaking mechanism.” 

“Thank you,” the Doctor said. The other Doctor dropped his hand, releasing them from the energy. “What is he planning?” 

“We don’t know. He’s been a part of Ridgemont Entities for so long we just trusted him. He told us about your home planet and living forever and we... We just do what he says. We don’t ask questions.” Matt said. Harold looked broken as he looked at the Doctor. 

“He promised me…” he whispered. The Doctor took a deep breath and walked to him. 

“I’m sure he did. He promised me a lot of things, too,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” 

Harold’s jaw trembled, and the Doctor in leather grabbed the Doctor’s arm. 

“We have to go. We don’t have much time,” he said. The Doctor shot one final glance back to Harold and Matt and nodded, and then turned and followed the Doctor out of the room.


	4. Gem & Chamber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg you guys this story is just writing itself. This might end up being a one day upload after all, I have most of the next chapter done too xD

They quickly darted up the stairs again until they reached the top floor. The Doctor looked at the man in leather as he scanned each wall for a cloaking mechanism like the one that led to the Vortex scanner. 

“You keep saying we don’t have much time, but you’ve been here longer than every other projection,” he said, moving to the next wall. The man in leather sighed. 

“I’m not like those projections. You know that,” he said. The Doctor nodded, and they moved up to another wall. 

“Exactly. So what do you mean by time?” he asked. 

“You’ll see…” the Doctor said, and he stopped scanning for a moment and stared at him. 

“Do you know what he’s planning?” he asked. The Doctor shook his head. 

“I can’t tell you that,” he said. The Doctor in pinstripes clenched his jaw and sniffed, and turned to the back wall. He started to scan, and the Doctor in leather leaned against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, pondering. “It never made sense to me.” 

“What?” the Doctor asked. He had found the door and was starting to unveil it. 

“Loving that body I get. All the hair, the chiseled jaw, the lean frame. But somehow…” he said, but he broke off. 

“She loved me when I was you?” the Doctor asked. “I still don’t get how she loves me even now, to be honest. We’re men torn apart by war. Broken and shattered and beaten and hard.” 

“But that’s Rose,” the Doctor in leather said. “Able to see the good. We were a lost soul…” 

“And she found us,” the Doctor finished, staring at him. A second ticked by, and he saw the light begin to appear again around his frame. “You’re not coming in, are you?” 

He just shook his head. “I can’t. My job was to bring you to her. That job is done, she’s right through that door. I have to go.” 

The Doctor stepped forward and shook his head. “She’d want to see you.” 

“She will see me!” the Doctor said. “You’re going in aren’t you?” 

The Doctor laughed a little and looked down at his feet. The same man, always… 

“Do me a favor?” he asked, and the Doctor in pinstripes looked up at him. 

“What?” he whispered. 

“Have a fantastic life. Together. Do that for me,” he said. The Doctor felt a wave of emotions he wasn’t expecting and nodded. He realized, suddenly, that both he and Rose had been thinking so hard over the last few minutes their blocks went up without them realizing and he quickly nudged his mind. She let him in, and he felt her shock when _his_ face was staring at her. 

“She can hear you, if there’s anything you want to say,” the Doctor murmured. He just grinned, his widest, most goofy grin, and he clapped the Doctor on the shoulder. 

“Do you understand the whole I am you and you are me thing? I have nothing to say. You’ve said it all, she knows,” he said. He then smiled, and he shook his head, the golden light getting stronger. “Actually, there is one thing…” 

“What?” he asked. 

“Run!” he shouted, and pushed the Doctor toward the door just as he vanished in a swoop of gold light. The door pulled open and he stumbled through, where Rose caught him in a hug. 

She clung to him, crying and rather confused, and he just held her and kissed her head over and over, the feel of her heartbeat against his chest and in his ring giving him more joy than he ever thought possible. 

“What was that?” she asked. He grinned at her. 

“Bad Wolf. I’ll explain it all later, yeah?” he said. She just stared at him, and he kissed her. “I love you so much.” 

“I love you, too,” she said, and they hugged again. 

“Oh, get a room,” the Master said. He couldn’t see them, much to his relief, but he could hear everything and they were giving him a cavity. He hated it. The Doctor pulled away from her and took her hand, and they both moved to the Master and looked at him carefully. 

“You strapped her to a table?” the Doctor asked, his voice angry. The Master just sighed. 

“She got out,” the Master said. “Not even a scratch.” 

“There was a bullet hole, actually,” Rose said. The Doctor snapped his head toward her and she rubbed his arm. 

_I healed it quickly. I’m okay._

He felt his anger reach a new level, and he glared at the Master. 

“What is your plan?” he asked. 

“I’m not saying anything without the gem,” the Master replied. “C’mon, Doctor. You know how this works. You give a little, I give a little, we reach an...understanding.” 

“No,” the Doctor said, sniffing. “You and understanding are not words I would ever put together in a sentence.” 

The Master just took a deep breath, and the Doctor shook his head. He noticed his fingers were tapping on the wooden table. 

One. Two. Three. Four.

One. Two. Three. Four. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

“Where is the chamber?” the Doctor asked. The Master smiled. 

He snapped his fingers, and the blinds that had covered the window fell down with a flourish. 

A large clock sat in the middle of another room, also white, very cold and bare at a first glance. It was wooden but painted gold, and it stood about ten feet tall, each second ticking quickly. 

Rose noticed that the Gallifreyan symbol for the number four was written all along the sides of the wood. Engraved, calling to her, and she looked at the Master. 

“What happens at four o’clock?” she asked. The Doctor felt his stomach flip as he looked at the clock too, realizing this is what the Doctor in leather must have been talking about. 

“It’s a countdown…” the Doctor said under his breath. He took a step away from Rose, his fingers still touching her hand as he looked at it more closely, and the Master began to smile. 

“The Sidekicks have an automatic fail safe programmed into their control panels,” the Master said. “At four o’clock, they turn off, and the human race will cease to exist.” 

Rose stared at him, and the Doctor whipped around, his confused face etched onto his features. 

“What?!” he said, and stormed over to the Master. “Why? What purpose does that serve?” 

“Control,” the Master said. “There’s nothing quite like it. The Sidekicks will corrupt the microchip in their master’s wrists, leaving their mind exposed. And that’s when I jump in. I will power down the droids and I will control every human’s mind, thoughts, actions and reactions….Everyone in the world has one of these things now, Doctor. The greatest achievement of my long life. And we will come for you.” 

“That’s absurd,” the Doctor said. “If that’s your plan, why do you need the chamber?” 

“Open it and find out,” the Master said. He started to laugh then, and Rose looked back at the clock, suddenly realizing the chamber was tucked against the back wall. It was white with red lines on each corner, and she could see the spot the gem was supposed to go sitting right in the middle of the cover. She walked toward the window and peered in. 

“We don’t have the gem, we can’t open it,” the Doctor said. 

Rose could hear what they were saying, but the seconds on the clock were ticking away, ringing louder in her ear with each passing moment. She felt the clock around her neck tick as well, a double ringing that drowned out all other sounds for a moment as she stared at the chamber. 

Both clocks lined up to 3:45pm, and she heard a wolf howl. The clock around her neck began to glow. 

“Doctor!” she exclaimed, and he turned and looked at her. She pulled the clock over her head and stared at it. “We will know when the time is right.” 

“What?” he asked. 

“That’s what your mother said. That we will know where the gem is when the time is right.,” she said. He stared at her, and she held the clock up to him with her palm. “Doctor. Time.” 

It clicked, and he grabbed the clock, cradling it with his fingers. The Master was still laughing behind them, but he stopped when he realized they had figured something out and he watched intently. The Doctor’s eyes locked with Rose’s. 

He realized, as hazel galaxies swam with chocolate, that this was the moment. This decision would be the catalyst for what was to come. The decision that would determine if Rose lives or dies. Possibly if he lives or dies. The decision that may or may not get them forever. He knew now that it was more than the Vortex that lived in her brain, but Arton Energy…

If he played his cards right...

Forever was possible. More possible than he ever knew with certainty before, and he found himself not breathing and looking between Rose and the clock, the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

It was also, because the universe can’t just give him one problem to solve, a decision that may stop the Sidekicks from going haywire. The decision that may save the universe, or destroy it. 

A decision in the shape of a small clock, a memory of his childhood, beating in between his fingers. 

“Come on, Doctor…” the Master said. “You know you want to.” 

He looked at Rose, and swallowed. She nodded at him, and it was all the push he needed. 

Because if he believes in one thing, just one thing, he believes in her. 

He opened the clock with his sonic screwdriver and it fell apart in his hand like a clamshell, two halves of one whole sprawled out and exposed, where they could both see the intricate mechanism inside. Rose recognized it from the game of StopWatch, and there, in the middle of it all, sat a red gem. 

“Wow,” Rose said. The Doctor picked it up and stared at it. He was tense, and he was grinding his teeth. 

_My father must have stolen this. Put it in here. He could’ve been killed._

_He trusted you to find it, Doctor. He must have._

Their eyes locked again, and he knew there was only one choice. 

The Master was grinning at him, and he turned to look at him, his face stone and calculated. “How do I open the window?” 

The Master let out a sound and snapped his fingers again, and the window shattered. 

Rose pulled the Doctor down as glass fell everywhere. It cut his cheeks and sliced her knees, but neither were able to care. The clock read 3:48pm, and the Doctor grabbed Rose’s hand and ran to the chamber. 

“Are you ready?” he asked. 

“Yes,” she said, and together they placed the stone in the middle of the hibernation chamber and stood back and it began to glow. The Master was cheering and howling in the other room, and Rose’s Instincts kicked in just as the cover began to slide off and a burst of red light pierced the ceiling, creating a wind tunnel above the gem. She pulled the Doctor with her back into the other room. 

Suddenly, just as the Doctor suspected, Rassilon stood before them.


	5. The End of Time

His robes were bright red. Gold swirls and script ran along the panels in the front and he had his headpiece behind him, towering above the top of his graying black hair and curving down along the sides. He was smiling, and in his hand he held a staff, but the gem that was supposed to sit in the middle, was missing. The Doctor was glaring at him as he looked at the Master, and nodded. 

“You did well,” he said. The Master smiled and Rassilon made a flourish with his hand, calling the gem from the chamber to the staff. The Doctor and Rose watched as it reattached itself and shone brightly against the clock. Rassilon smiled again and moved toward the Master, undoing all of his restraints as Rose and the Doctor grabbed hands. 

“Rassilon,” the Doctor said, his voice dripping in disappointment. “This is all your plan?” 

“Doctor,” he said. It wasn’t friendly, and Rose noticed the way a vein on his neck popped a little as he said her husband’s name. “Your father wasn’t the only one to see the possibilities. I had to be prepared as well.” 

He moved away from the Master, who followed him like a poodle, and stood by the gold clock, kicking glass out of his way as he moved. “Ten minutes.” 

“This is about more than just controlling the human race, isn’t it?” the Doctor asked. “I know you, Rassilon. You couldn’t care less about this planet.” 

“Oh, but you’re wrong, Doctor,” he said. “Before the end...It’s true. I didn’t think much of this place. It’s oceans are too salty and its air is too polluted, and its inhabitants are too...stupid.” He looked at Rose as he said this, and she watched. The Doctor felt rage. “But...when I saw the timeline of what was to come. When I knew what you were going to do, I took it upon myself to take a special...interest in this planet. I brought the Master back from his grave to aid me in my quest. This place means so much to _you_ , Doctor. You and that father of yours. Your weak human mother...your weak brother and even weaker sister…all part human...” 

“Don’t you dare,” the Doctor warned, but the Master just laughed and Rassilon smiled. 

“I regret giving you those regenerations, you know,” Rassilon said. “Had I known the outcomes then I never would have.” 

“Spit it out,” Rose said. “What are you planning?” 

“He’s going to help me lead,” the Master said. “We’re going to rule the human race together, as a true team. One that is nine hundred years in the making. Control and victory.” 

“No,” Rassilon said, not looking at the Master. Rose saw the flicker that crossed the Master’s face, and Rassilon stared at Rose. “You are a pretty thing.” 

“Leave her alone,” the Doctor said. Rassilon smiled. 

“I made a mistake before, during the first war. We fought against the Daleks and the technologies they had to offer, when what we should have done was banded together and stopped _you._ I will not be making that same mistake again this time,” he said. 

“They’re nothing like Daleks,” Rose said. “You’re not making any sense.” Rassilon took a deep breath. 

“I have the gem now,” he said. “And I saw the timeline where Michelle brought the idea of the Sidekicks to the Master. I planted the seed for him to work alongside her, knowing he would succeed. Knowing that he would build me an army of droids, who, when put all together, have enough power inside of them that if I harness their energy and I can breach the Void. I just needed the gem, and you delivered it to me.” 

The Doctor’s hand was gripping Rose’s as they listened, and his face was tight. He wasn’t breathing, and Rassilon just stared at him. “I will bring them back, Doctor. The Time Lords are returning, all except your family, and your precious little humans will perish. Gallifrey will be reborn on the planet you fought so hard to save.” 

“What?” 

It was the Master who spoke, and both Rose and the Doctor looked at him. There was a betrayal in his eyes as he stared at Rassilon, and he was tapping on his leg. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

“Oh, hush, Master,” Rassilon said. “It’s for the best.” 

The Doctor’s eyes met the Master’s across the room, and they both felt it. A moment, fleeting and sacred, passing between two long lost friends, and invitation to the right thing. The Master made his choice. 

He ran to the Doctor’s side and pulled the bullets out of Rose’s pocket, loading them back into the gun. He aimed it at Rassilon. 

“No,” the Master said. “This was not the plan.” 

Rassilon took a deep breath. The Doctor and Rose’s eyes darted between them for a moment, and Rose sensed it. Instincts. Rassilon raised his staff and a flash of light shot out of it. She jumped and pushed both the Doctor and the Master down to the ground and held out her hand, where the light from Rassilon’s gem and the gold light of the Vortex met in the middle, fighting for control. 

The Master looked up and his eyes widened. The Doctor sat there, frozen for a moment, as he took in the picture, but he ultimately grabbed the Master’s arm and pulled him back, looking at him desperately, trying to help Rose as quickly as he could. 

“The failsafe, does the clock trigger it?” he asked. The Master just nodded and the Doctor looked at him with a creased bow, begging him to help. “We have to break it, then. If the switch never happens, if the Sidekicks don’t take control then Rassilon doesn’t win.” 

“He can still find another way to harness the energy in them. It’s done. Nothing we can do,” the Master said. 

Rose and the Master were still fighting, and the Doctor watched his wife. A glowing goddess, screaming as Rassilon shouted at her, and he cupped his hands to the Master’s face. 

“Look at me. I can’t lose her,” he said. 

The Master stared at him, and for a moment they were two boys on the Gallifreyan mountainside, and the Master shook his head. 

“I’ve been so mad at you,” he said. “For not telling me what you had to do.” 

“What?” the Doctor said. “I thought you were dead.” 

He stared at him. Their eyes held each other’s gaze in agony, and his jaw trembled. “Would you have? If you thought I was alive? Would you have told me?” the Master asked. The Doctor sighed. 

“No,” he said. 

The Master just nodded and pulled his head out of the Doctor’s grasp. Rassilon made one final scream, and the Doctor and the Master turned and watched in horror as the light from the staff overtook the Vortex, and hit Rose straight in the heart. 

“ROSE!” the Doctor cried, and he ran to her, sliding on his knees as he scooped her into his arms. The Master just stared, and Rassilon looked at him as the Doctor kept saying Rose’s name. She was alive, but barely, and he felt the hum in his head start to fade again. The pain was coming back with a fury and he fought it off; about to place his hands on her temples and dive in and see if he could save her when Rassilon picked up the gun the Master had dropped and handed it back to him. 

“Do it, my son,” he said. The Master took it with trembling hands, and looked back at Rassilon with an unreadable face. Rassilon nodded at him and the Master, somehow paler than he had been all day, locked eyes with the Doctor. 

When he would later look back on this moment of his life, he would realize it all happened rather quickly. But at the time, he felt each second tick away with a vengeance, the sound of the clock behind him as loud as the drums he knew were in the Master’s mind, dragging on as Rose’s eyes stayed shut, and her mind grew dim, and the pulse in his ring slowed to a rate that made him tremble.

3:55 and one… 

3:55 and two…

Rassilon stood back, and the Master aimed the gun at Rose and the Doctor, holding it there. The Doctor, defeated and realizing he made the wrong choice, covered Rose’s dying body with his own, trying to shield her from any more pain, and he closed his eyes. 

He had been so stupid to hope. 

That is what was going through his mind, the unbelievable crash of reality falling down around him, reminding him that the universe doesn’t give him a happy ending. He had always known this. He lived his life with that principle ringing in the back of his head for centuries, but he got caught up in all the flowery language Aphrodite told them.

Idiot. 

He let himself, a Time Lord, a man of science, believe that true love could conquer it all. He gave in completely, daring himself to believe the visions Rose had seen and the Instincts he knew weren’t fact…

He had hoped. An emotion, he knows, that is so hard to resist. He had been so _stupid,_ letting it trickle into his bloodstream and wrap around his hearts. 

He made the wrong choice. 

He sobbed over Rose’s body, unable not to, as he felt the pressure in his head grow stronger. 

He had no way of knowing, the connection too muted, that the wolf howled in Rose’s mind. 

Suddenly, as the Master cocked the gun, Rose’s eyes shot open. She shifted in his arms, leaving him stunned with tear-stained cheeks as she suddenly stood, and the Master’s face hardened. 

This part happened quickly, even in his state of hyper-awareness. 

“Get out of the way,” the Master told her, and Rose ducked as the Master shot the clock four times, directly over the hands, breaking through the glass that protected each second as they ticked. Rose shot a beam of light at it, exploding the entire thing. 

“NO!” Rassilon screamed, wide-eyed. The Doctor stood with his wife and was suddenly grinning. 

He made the right choice. His impossible human… 

He wanted to grab her and spin her around in a circle, he wanted to kiss her until his lips bled and tell her just how much he loved her, but as per usual, the universe needed saving first. 

“That’s not possible,” Rassilon said. He was fuming, and Rose merely smirked at him, grabbing the Doctor’s hand. He sent her a strong wave of adoration and she smiled up at him. He winked at her. 

_I thought I’d lost you._

_Yeah, well..._

They smiled again, and Rassilon let out a frustrated growl. 

“I like impossible things,” she said, looking directly at Rassilon. He was just staring at her, as the fire from the clock burned against her eyes. “You can see all of space and time, Rassilon. Everything that is and everything that could be, but didn’t see this coming, did you?” she asked. The Doctor watched her, on the verge of tears again from the pride and relief he was feeling, and Rassilon just stared at her like she was an abomination. “Do you know why?” 

He didn’t say anything, and Rose took a step forward. 

“Because I create myself,” she whispered, and she shot one more beam of light, pulling the staff out of his hand. She caught it and handed it to the Doctor, who had so many questions. He wanted to know what happened in Rose’s mind while she was unconscious, he wanted to know if the Artron energy in her was activated, which would make regenerations possible...which would mean… 

He watched Rassilon start to tremble. 

The clock was shattered, but his connection to the axis of the Earth told him what he needed to know. 

3:59 and one…

3:59 and two…

The Master ran to the side of the room, tearing down the rest of the Huon metal so he could peer out the window. Rose waited, the Doctor’s hand in hers, and the Master shouted. 

“Nothing happened…” he said, looking at the Doctor. “It’s four o’clock.” 

“You lost,” the Doctor said, looking back at Rassilon. “Oh, that felt good to say.” 

The fire was still raging in the room with the clock, and Rose got an idea. She grabbed a hold of the chamber and pulled it to them with her energy, landing it in the middle of the room with a thud. 

She planned on knocking him unconscious. The Doctor fully supported her and was helping her get the chamber ready, their minds one as they planned to lock Rassilon back inside and take him to the edge of the universe, where most black holes live, and send him on his way. 

He would join the Beast in hell. 

The Master, however, had another idea, and he was just unpredictable enough that they should have prepared for it, but they were both feeling quite giddy, and they forgot the gun was still in his hand. 

He aimed it at Rassilon and glared at him, small beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. 

“Master, don’t,” the Doctor said. 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” the Master snapped. His eyes bore into Rassilon, “You made me like this. Used me, promised me that it was for a purpose. That one day I would wake you up from that chamber stronger than I was before, and I would get to sit on the High Council with you. I would hold Time in my hands in the most intimate of ways. Bend the universe to my will and revel in the joy...You lied.” 

The Doctor watched as he fired the gun, aiming for one of his hearts, but his hands were trembling and he hit Rassilon in the shoulder. The Doctor tackled him, trying to get the gun out of his hand. “GET OFF OF ME!” 

“STOP!” he shouted, and Rassilon was laughing. Rose tensed at the sound. 

“Boys, boys, boys…” he said, shaking his head at them. “Always two sides of one coin. You can never agree on anything, can you?” 

They were still struggling, and Rose felt herself lose patience. 

_Doctor._

Her voice made him drop his hold, and he was panting, trying to catch his breath as Rose swatted the Master’s hand and grabbed the gun. In a different circumstance, the Doctor would have made some joke about how she was acting like her mother, but he didn’t and he watched her use her sonic screwdriver to render the gun useless. She tossed it, now just a toy, at the Master, who glared at her. 

“You’re better than him,” she said. 

The Doctor felt his throat tighten, realizing Rose was saving another lost soul, and he helped the Master to his feet. “We can end this. Together,” he told him squarely. The Master looked at him, scowling, and Rose slipped her hand back in the Doctor’s, and they both saw him nod every so slightly. Rassilon was still laughing, and Rose snapped her attention to him. 

“Shut up,” she said. She sounded like the old him all in leather, and it made him smirk as he turned with her to face Rassilon. The both held up their sonic screwdrivers. 

“What are you going to do?” Rassilon asked. “Mark my words, Doctor. This won’t be the end.” 

“Maybe not,” the Doctor said, sniffing. “But, well...if there is one thing I’ve learned in 906 years, Rassilon, it’s that you can only react to what you see.” 

They both pressed, completely on the same page as they broke all the windows, causing a big enough distraction Rassilon didn’t see them grab the staff. The Doctor removed the stone and slipped it in his pocket as Rose knocked Rassilon back with a beam of light, rendering him unconscious as his head hit the back wall. The Master just watched, still trying to process everything as Rose and the Doctor moved him back into the chamber, and locked the cover in place. 

The fire was still blazing, but it was filtering out of the windows quickly. Rose started to cough, the smoke still fairly thick and the Doctor looked at her. 

“I’ll go to grab the TARDIS,” he told her, trying to put aside the urge to hold her and finish the task at hand. 

“Okay,” she said, smiling at him. Their eyes lingered in a lover’s gaze, and he shook his head at her. 

“Oh, come here,” he said, unable to wait to kiss her. Their minds felt complete as their bodies pressed against one another, and they were both laughing, growing dizzy as the kiss deepened, and Rose broke, catching her breath and cupping her hand to his cheek. 

“I love you so much,” she said in Gallifreyan, and he smiled at her. 

“Right back at you,” he said, and he kissed her once more before he leapt out of the room and ran to the front of the building. 

Rose and the Master stared at each other, and he sighed. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. She walked to him, and placed her hand on his shoulder. 

“I know,” she said. He just shook his head and collapsed onto the ground, staring at her. 

“I don’t know what you are, Rose Tyler, but...the universe doesn’t stand a chance,” he muttered. She laughed a little and kneeled down, looking at him seriously. 

“Come with us,” she said. “We’ve got plenty of room. You two deserve a fresh start.” 

“No,” he said. “I can’t. I…” 

“Yes, you can,” she said. She held her hand out, and he looked at it, but he just shook his hand again. 

“No.” 

She furrowed her brow and stood up. Neither said anything for a few minutes until the gentle wheezing hum of the TARDIS materializing echoed through the room, and the Doctor opened the door, smiling at them. 

“Fancy a trip?” he asked, looking right at the Master, whose jaw clenched and he just shook his head. 

“I’m not like you, Doctor,” he said softly. “I don’t want to.” 

He just stared at him, and slowly stepped off the TARDIS. “Why not?” 

“I don’t care about seeing the universe,” he said. “And my head...hurts.” 

The Doctor stiffened and knelt down in front of him, in the same spot where Rose had just been. “I know.” 

“No, you don’t,” the Master said. “This noise….” 

Both Rose and the Doctor saw it, the tapping of his foot. 

One. Two. Three. Four. 

“I can try to...relieve it, in some way, if you want,” the Doctor said. The Master just laughed and gave him a somber look. 

“I don’t know what I’d be without this noise,” he said. The Doctor just looked at him. 

“I wonder what I’d be, without you,” the Doctor said sadly. His eyes glanced to Rose, remembering the fixed points. The way this rivalry led him here. 

To her. 

She bit her lip and moved to him, wrapping her hand in his. 

The Master closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. “You better deposit him while you can.” 

“He’s not waking up, it’s a hibernation chamber,” Rose said. The Master shook his head. 

“You better leave me alone, then,” he said. “Now.” 

The Doctor felt his throat tighten. It’s like this every time, he thought. He makes a small breakthrough, and the Master runs away. Returns to the ways of the cold soldier, oftentimes ready to fight again. He sighed. 

“Our door is always open,” he said seriously. He wanted to yell, to tell him he was being an idiot, to tell him that this was the last time he was going to do this for him, but he didn’t. He knew it wasn’t true. 

A part of him will always miss his friend. A part of him will always want him to come home. 

“What will you do?” Rose asked. The Master shrugged. 

“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” he said. “No more Rassilon….maybe I’ll write a book.” 

They all let out a small pained laugh, and the Doctor just sighed. “Goodbye, then.” 

The Master didn’t say anything, and Rose stood up alongside her husband, still hand in hand as they finished what they started. She brought the hibernation chamber onto the TARDIS, and the Doctor watched her walk onboard. He stepped up into the archway and turned around, his eyes locking with his friend just for a moment. 

“I have nothing left to fight for, do I?” the Master realized. The Doctor looked at him carefully, his brow lowered, and the Master just shook his head. The Doctor saw his tongue dart up to the corner of his mouth and his eyes widened, realization hitting him and he ran to him, but the Master worked too quickly and bit down, cyanide entering his blood stream instantly. 

“WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!” the Doctor shouted, and Rose came running out, too. He cupped his face in his hands again, and Rose ran over, placing her hands on the Master’s arm. 

“I can try to heal him,” she said. She wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but the Master just smiled, foaming a little at the mouth and Rose focused on the Vortex energy, but it was too late. The glow from her hands dissipated and the Master just looked at the Doctor and let out a shaky breath. 

“Tell me, Doctor...Can you hear the drums?” he whispered, and he collapsed onto the floor. 

The Doctor stared at him, his hearts breaking all over again as Rose covered her mouth with her hand. 

The Doctor sat back, his arms behind him as he just stared at the Master’s body. Rose moved to him and sat behind him, pulling his body against hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He just sat there, until he eventually clenched his jaw and pulled away from Rose, standing up and holding his hand out to her. 

“Let’s go,” he said. She slipped her fingers in between his and followed him onto the TARDIS, watching him carefully as he moved them to the Vortex and didn’t speak. His expression was blank, but she could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down a few times, and she placed her hand over his. 

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. He just sighed. 

“If it had to be him or you…” he began, and closed his eyes. Rose wrapped her arms around him, and he found himself clinging to her, his face pressed against hers as her sweet honey wafted in the air above him. He just sighed. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” she said, and pulled away just slightly, her eyes trying to get a read on him. “I have a feeling I’m more than.” 

He stared at her, trembling just a little as he brushed his thumb along her jawbone. “Me too,” he whispered. He lowered his forehead until it touched hers, and both of them closed their eyes. 

“I offered...Doctor, I...I tried to get him to come with us...He didn’t do that because -” she began, but he just shook his head and kissed her forehead. 

“No, Rose no,” he whispered. “He had that capsule in his mouth the entire time. He planned that. That was the madness, maybe, or the soldier, deciding it’s better to die than not succeed. And he could’ve regenerated but...he didn’t. I should've seen it coming…” 

“Are you alright?” she asked. He nodded, just once, and kissed her. 

“He made his choice. That was all him, I…” he said, and he closed his eyes. “I have tried to talk him out of his choices many, many times. Nothing I would’ve said would’ve changed what he did.” 

“But are you alright?” she asked. He just looked at her. 

“He’s not who I was worried about, Rose,” he said seriously. “I’m alright, I promise.” 

There were unspoken words in the air, and for the first time in many months they weighed them down a little. They had a job to do, though, and before they allowed themselves to unlock the gates and feel what they’d just been through, they moved to the end of the galaxy and found a blackhole. They worked a little slower than usual, both feeling a little tired, and the Doctor set a trajectory like he did with the Spoodles, and Rose latched onto the chamber, sending it out into space as she also held onto the coral. 

They knew it would work but they were still relieved to see it happen. The TARDIS and Rose fought against the pull of the blackhole as the Doctor pushed a button and threw the chamber out into space like a slingshot. They saw it disappear on the screen, absorbed by the black whirlpool that was inching closer to them, and Rose pushed them away from it with the energy, just like she had all those months ago on New Year’s Eve. 

They still weren’t speaking, but when they knew they were safely spinning in the Vortex, they grabbed onto each other. 

It was a desperate hug, and they coupled it with a desperate kiss. The Master dampened the mood considerably, and Rose wasn’t convinced the Doctor was as okay as he was letting on, but she pulled away from him and swallowed hard as he held her hand and led her to the Infirmary. Both of the hearts were beating rapidly in their chests, and they had so many things they wanted to say and thoughts they needed to voice, but they both wanted this answer first. 

She hopped on the table silently, and the Doctor looked at her. Neither spoke, unable to, as he gently pushed on her shoulders so she would lean back against the metal. She stared at the ceiling, her heart now in her throat, the beat of it ringing in her ears, and he ran a scan. 

“Hm,” he said, and her eyes snapped to him.

“What’s that mean?” she asked, but he didn’t say anything and moved onto a small blood sample. He took her temperature, and ran it all through the TARDIS, staring at the results with a furrowed brow. “Doctor…” 

“No, it’s…” he began, and he leaned against the counter. “It’s...well…” 

“Tell me?” she asked. He looked at her, and shook his head. 

“Did you know you sent Bad Wolf to me?” he asked. She sighed. 

“Doctor, can we do this later? Just tell me what -” she protested, but he placed a hand on her forehead, rubbing and brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. 

“Did you?” he asked. She sighed. 

“I...I woke up and I could tell you were...I dunno, struggling is the only word I can think of. I couldn’t hear you and for a moment I thought you...And I knew if my head hurt that yours was probably….and your heartbeat was so fast, and I just…” she said, breaking off when she saw the look he was giving her. 

“Rose,” he whispered, and she bit her lip. 

“I did,” she whispered back, almost ready to cry. That _look_ was doing something to her. “I asked the wolf in my head to help you, like it did in Alaska. It was helping me stay calm, I thought…” 

“Rose, when you did that…” he said, but he couldn’t get the words out, and he choked back a sob, looking at her wedding ring before he brought his eyes back to her face. “You activated Artron Energy, love. It’s all over your bloodstream now, like it is in mine…” 

“What?” she asked. He nodded and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Like...regenerations?” 

He just stared at her, and he clenched his jaw. “Not yet. You’re human, still. Your DNA, I mean, is still basically human, you may have a small strand of Time Lord RNA mixed in, I’d need to do a deeper scan, but that part doesn't really matter. Artron Energy makes the difference, Rose, and it’s possible now. You…” 

“They can be gifted? Like they were to you?” she whispered. He couldn’t speak, but he just nodded and captured her lips in a kiss. She smiled against it, tongues rolling and he wrapped his hand in her hair. He pulled away after a moment and just shook his head at her, much too overwhelmed to try to talk. She bit her lip again, and felt a few tears run down the side of her face. “But you said the high council gives them out, and they’re gone, I thought -” 

“I don’t care what I said,” he told her, brushing her tears away. “They’re possible. They weren’t before. I...We will find a way. I’m not losing you, Rose Tyler.” 

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” she said with a small smile, and he just shook his head at her, so incredibly in love it was making him forget how to speak. He kissed her again, and she moaned a little at the connection she felt in her mind. 

They quite literally saw stars during this kiss, and it made them both have to break apart and laugh. He pulled her into a hug and she took a deep breath. “Can you tell me what happened? You said it was Bad Wolf…” 

“Oh!” he said, pulling away and smiling at her. “Right! Sorry, yes. You were right, I was _not_ handling things very well and all of a sudden...I was there. And I was _rude_ , you think this body is rude Rose, I genuinely don’t remember being so _sassy_ and hard to read before, I mean it -” 

“Doctor,” she said, smiling like an idiot at him. He smiled back, and grabbed her hand. 

“Come on, you deserve chips with this story,” he said with a wink. 

And so they sat, bowls of salty, vinegary goodness in their laps as their legs dangled out of the TARDIS underneath a new nebula, and he told her everything. How she sent him Bad Wolf, who took the shape of his past self through the use of Artron Energy, who was able to lead him back to her. 

“I’d say our first kiss saved us today,” he said, wiping his fingers on his trousers, which she let slide this time. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, biting down on a chip. He smiled at her. 

“He said Bad Wolf was never meant to belong to a person, but you made it possible,” he continued, “But, as we both know, it was killing you, and then I kissed you and it killed me…” 

“Doctor,” she whispered, and he looked at her. 

“No, it’s good! It was supposed to happen. I’d even go so far as to say it was...well... destiny, if you want to call it that. When I sent the energy back, Rose, a piece of me went with it. The Vortex absorbed my essence when I regenerated and stored some Artron energy from my cells for when we both needed it. It shouldn’t have been possible; the Vortex usually burns the Artron Energy and then it’s gone, but...not this time. Not when the only thing that would save us was each other. If I hadn’t kissed you, well….” 

She swallowed her bite before she was ready and just stared at him. She began to smile, just a little, as she traced each line around his eyes. “So...it’s because of you that I had dormant Artron Energy in me, then?” 

“Yeah,” he said, nudging her shoulder with his. She licked the salt off of her lips and continued to look at him, now mesmerized by the light of the nebula bouncing off his freckles. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For saving me.” 

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” he said. 

“I do,” she murmured, eating her last chip. “I like destiny.” 

“Yeah,” he said, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, looking at the nebula. Flashes of green mixed with orange and white, cascading around them and shaped like an hourglass, and she realized with a flip of her stomach where they were. 

“Oh, my God…” she said. She just looked at him, and he clenched his jaw. “Is this…” 

“Gallifrey was right there,” he said. “This is all that’s left. Look right….there, you can see the remnants of the planet.” 

“Doctor….” she said, and she squeezed his hand so hard it was almost painful. “Why would you take me here? We should leave, we -” 

“Rose,” he said, looking at her with a smile. “I’m not sad.” 

She could tell he meant it, and he shifted a little against the ramp, setting aside his bowl of chips and he put his legs around her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her head came to rest on his chest, and she felt the pulse of his groin against her back, which caused her to bite her lip. “It’s beautiful.” 

“Yeah,” he said, looking at her. She nestled her head against him and he pulled her closer. “What happened...when you came back?” 

“Bad Wolf,” she whispered. “I healed myself I think.”

“Unconscious?” he asked, amazed. She just nodded, her eyes tracing the green light. He let out a small laugh and kissed her hair. “Impossible human.” 

She beamed up at him, and twisted in his arms, kissing him. 

He deepened the kiss, sliding his hands to her leather jacket immediately, but she pulled away. He looked at her carefully, and she just rubbed her hand in his hair. 

“I just...you watched two other Time Lords die again today, Doctor. Are you -” 

“Rose,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m alright.” 

She didn’t believe him, and with a sigh he nudged his mind to her, and sent her everything he felt when he thought she was dying, limp in his arms, their connection and timeline slipping through his fingers. The intense pain, the guilt, the agony of it all crushing him, making it hard to breathe, and he pulled back after just a few seconds, unable to relive it and already knowing it made her cry. 

They stared at each other, and he cupped her face in his hands. “Whatever sadness I may be feeling over what happened to them, ultimately, Rose, they brought it on themselves. The Master especially. I can’t….There was a time when I would have let it get to me, but I just can’t. I can’t, Rose, not when I almost lost you and I didn’t.” 

“I love you,” she said through tears, and he just smiled at her. 

“I love you,” he whispered. “Can I go back to kissing you now?” 

“Yes, please,” she said with a small laugh, and they resumed what they were doing before, lips brushing against each other softly, until the Doctor scooped her into his arms and led her to the bedroom, where they wasted no time stripping themselves out of their clothes and connecting every part of their bodies. Minds, hearts, souls, and limbs. It was a night full of ‘I almost lost you’ passionate love making, coupled with hope and potential for whatever might come next, and it was intoxicating. 

He wasn’t able to think about anything else. They spoke entirely in Gallifreyan, something they had never done before. Usually it's just single words, maybe a sentence, but this made him thrust faster and deeper than he usually does; words of devotion and love, and the occasional curse if she moved in a certain way that curled his toes. It was needy and raw, and her fingernails dug into him. His teeth scraped against her shoulder and they both saw flashes of memories that made it all that much more tantalizing and urgent. 

She said his name in Gallifreyan as she bucked her hips and threw her head back, and he stared at her and groaned, thinking she had never looked more beautiful. Her hair was a wild mess, dirty and sweaty and tangled and caught in the hoop earrings they forgot to remove, and her cheeks were flushed and pink. She had mascara under her eyes from rubbing against his body, and she had never been more captivating. 

“Rose...Oh, Rose…” 

She whimpered and clung to the sheets, and they moved in tandem, perfectly aligned and perfectly in sync in every way, and they both felt like they were flying, hissing and kissing and moaning, until all they could do was lie there and catch their breaths. 

Sleep was hard to come by that night, but he held her to him tightly as she rested, rubbing circles on her back slowly as he processed. He kissed her forehead and rested his head back on his pillow. 

He found himself daydreaming about what the other timelines could have been. If he hadn’t made the choice to go and pull her back from that parallel universe. If he had been a little bit stronger, a little less in love, a little more able to accept the fact that she may not have been with him but she was safe, and that was the most important thing. If he had been a little more like he wanted to be then, a little more proper Time Lord who refused to go against the laws set in place when she was gone, what would have happened? 

He wanted to believe he would still be happy. But he knew it was a lie. There was no universe without her in which he would be okay. 

And all of a sudden, he found himself thinking about alternate universes. Words he spoke to Jackie, so very long ago, rang in his ear as he took stock in all that he had, and he pulled Rose even closer to him. 

_Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence…_

His hearts skipped a beat, realizing that somewhere, in some other dimension, there is a version of him who has to live without her. 

The sorrow he felt for that man was numbing. 

She hummed and kissed his chest in her sleep, which broke his cycle of thoughts and he smiled a little at her, kissing her forehead. 

“I love you,” he murmured, and finally drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely thought it would take me a couple weeks to get all this out. But I had the day off and it all poured onto the page in basically one day. SO here you go! 
> 
> One more after this! I'm not ready to say goodbye to these two yet, so I decided I'm definitely writing a sequel. We'll see where it goes :D
> 
> Also, in case you're interested - another song from my writing playlist that was the inspiration for these last two chapters and the thoughts in both of OTPs heads: "Without You (Extended)" by Ursine Vulpine & Annaca.


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